Voting machine



March 9, 194%. A. N. GusTAvsoN VOTING MACHINE Original Filed Feb. 5,1958 Frs-I si v -ell I fill/221 l@f2/#adam Mfg/v Summa/14 Patented Mar.9, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VOTING MACHINE Vsubstituted forabandoned application Serial No.

188,966, February 5, 1938.

This application September 23, 1939, Serial No. 296,305

(Cl. 235--54l 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement. in voting machines andv moreparticularly to a mechanism for requiring a voter to cast a completeballot, and is a reiile of my abandoned application, Serial' No.188,966, iiled February 5, 1938.

In elections for representatives to general assembly, representatives toconventions, or other oiiice groups, there are always more candidatesseeking nomination or election than there are oiiices to be iilled.Consequently, some of the candidates must be defeated and othersnominated or elected. At elections of this nature the voter isinstructed to cast his ballot for the same number of candidates asvthere are offices to be' filled in a given office group. Ii a few votersindividually fail to cast their ballotsas instructed, this would havelittle or no eiect on the outcome of an election, but it was found thata group of voters, by prearrangernen-t, could-defeat the pur'- poses ofthe election by casting their ballots for only one candidate instead ofa number of candidates equal to the number of olices in the officelgroup` In this manner the particular candidate would receive votes equalto that ofv the group of voters and the other candidates would receivenone. The favored candidate would therefore be the equivalent of twovotes ahead' of any of the other candidates. To illustrate, let it beassumed' that ten candidates are seeking election to iive oflices andthat iifty voters agreed to' cast their ballot for one given candidateinstead of for nve. The favored cand-idate would thus be the' equivalentof one hundred votes ahead' of any of the other nin-.e candidates. Thispractice is not only unethical and contrary to the intention of electionlaws, but in some cases, where prejudice of one kind or anotherprevails, it would be possible to assu-re theelection of any givencandidate provided a suicient minoritygroup of voters agreed to casttheir ballot in the manner described.

The present invention is" directed to the provision of a mechanism forcontrolling bal-loting in elections involving candidate groups. Thedevice is directly connected with an entrance or exit mechanism, locatedon the faceof the voting machine andoperable bythe voter or at thesideof the machine and operable by anelection oilicial. It is alsoconnected with certainI interlocking straps of the voting machine whichrepresent a group of candidates seeking election to a lesser number ofoiices. A voter must cast his ballot for the same number of candidatesof the group up for'election as there are oiiices to be filled and by sodoing, they presentdevice operates to release CTI the entrance or exitmechanism whereby an election official' or the voter himself may lockthe machine preparatory to registering the ballot.

One of the objects of the invention lies in the provision of a mechanismfor a voting machine which requires a voter, under certain electionconditions, to cast a complete ballot.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a mechanismwhich requires a voter to cast ballotsfor the same number of candidatesas therey are o'iii'ce's to be filled in a given candidate group.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a mechanism fora voting machine which prevents the voter registering his ballot andleaving the machine until he has cast a complete ballot.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a mechanism fora voting machine which prevents the election oicers manipulation of theentrance knob to release a voter until a complete ballot hasv been cast.

Other andfurther objects of the invention will be more fully understoodfrom a consideration of the following specification taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, and in which Figure l is a rearelevation of one modiiication of the invention applied to a votingmachine;

Figure 2y isan enlarged plan view of the structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view, similar to Figure 1,showing another position of certain' of the movable parts thereof;

Figure 4' is a vertical sectional view of the mechanism as applied tothe main interlocking mechanism of a voting machine, being takensubstantially on the line 4 4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the invention, being takensubstantially on the line 5-5l of Figure 3, and

Figure 6 is another enlarged vertical sectional Viewl takensubstantially on the line E-B of Figure 1.

Reference is now had to the drawing wherein the invention is shown tocomprise an auxiliary interlocking mechanism generally indicated by thereference numeral lil. The mechanism includesl a pair of plates I l andl2 which are held in spaced parallel relationship in any suitablemanner, as by blocks I3.r Projecting through suitable openings in theblocks I3 are rods lll, the lower ends of which terminate in bases i6. Aspring IT encircles the rod i4 and serves to normally extend thel rodandl base. Secured to the outer facel of plate l2 are lugs I8 havingupwardly opening slots or grooves I9. The interlock Il! is secured tothe main interlocking mechanism 2| of the voting machine by engaginglugs I6 with one of the plates of said main interlock, thespring-pressed rods I4 and bases I6 serving to prevent disengagement ofthese lugs (see Figure 4).

The plates II and I2 are formed with inwardly directedhorizontalchannels 22 and 23. 'I'hese channels cooperate to form a guide-way ifo-rone or more plates. In the present instance two plates 24 and 26 areprovided since the auxiliary interlocking mechanism shown is adapted tocontrol release of the entrance knob through either or both of twooffice groups. It is contemplated, however, that the guide-way. formedchine.

ported by a pin 63. The pin 63 is mounted on a strap 64 which extendsupwardly of the machine and connects with the mechanism adapted to lockor unlock the curtain control lever. The lower end of the strap 64 ismounted on a pin 66 which terminates the inner end of an entrance knob61 mounted on one wall of the voting ma- The entrance knob 61 isvertically movable, being shown in Figure 1 of the drawing.

Adjacent each of the |blocks 36 and 46 and supported in the channels 22and 23 are rollers 68 which are laterally movable along the channel andare identical in structure with rollers by the channels 22 and 23 may beenlarged or the plates reduced in thickness to adapt the device forcontrolling as many as ve or six office groups. The mechanism may,therefore, be adapted to control as many oflice groups as willordinarily be required in any election.

Projecting downwardly from one end of plate 24 is a shaft 21. The end ofthis shaft projects through an opening Iin the horizontal flange 28 of abracket 29, being secured against displacement in any suitable' manneras by a cotter pin. The lower end of the bracket 29 may be integral with`or joined to one side of a bar 3|v which lies lwithin the space definedby the members II and I2. The other end ofthe bar 3| is tted with afurther bracket 32, the horizon-tal flange 33 of which is provided withan upstanding pin 34 which projects through a block 36. The block 36 ismounted in the` guide-way formed by the channels 22 and 23 and ismovable longitudinally of the device in a manner hereinafter set forth.-In order that the bar 3| may normally assume one of its extremepositions, a spring 31 is provided which connects the-end of the baradjacent bracket 32` with a pin 33 on plate II. Plate 24 is now observedto be movable longitudinally of the guideway by `movement of block 36.This plate is provided with two substantially identical openings 39 and4|. Plate 26 may be mounted upon and is movable relative to plate 24.One end of this plate is provided with a downwardly projecting shaft 42which terminates in a bracket 43. The bracket 43 is integral with orsecured to one end of a bar 44. The 'bar 44, -located between plates I Iand l2, is provided with a further bracket 46 from which projects ashaft 41. A block 48, similar to the block 36, is mounted to be movablein the channels 22 and 23 and is joined to yone end of rod 41. A spring49 connects the bar 44 with plate I2 and causes the bar It0 normallyassume the same extreme position as Ibar 3|. Plate 26 is provided withopenings 5I and 52 which coincide with openings 39 and 4I when themachine is locked.

A bracket 53 is secured to the outer face and adjacent one end of plateI2. The upper portion 54 of this bracket projects above the plate I2 andis curved inwardly to partly overlie the ends of plates 24 and 25. Asuitable opening in the portion 54 supports pin 56 on which is mountedan arm 51. A shaft 58 is pivotally joined to one end of the arm 51. Theshaft 58 projects downwardly through an opening in the flange 59 of afurther bracket 6I. the arm 51, remote from shaft 58, is pivotallyconnected with a strap 62 which, as shown in Figure l of the drawing, isdirected upwardly of the side Wall of the voting machine and sup- Theend of` shown in the main interlock 2|. Interlocking straps 69 connect apredetermined group of main interlockingstraps 1I with the auxiliaryinterlock IU. The straps 6-9 may, as shown in the drawing, be formed inthree .parts which include a portion 12 joined to the main interlockingstrap, a portion 13 and a link 14 pivotally connecting these portions.The lower end of portion 13v projects downwardly between a pair ofrollers 68 and terminates in a lug 16. The illustration referred toabove of ten candidates seeking nomination or election to five oices iscarried out in the drawing and, therefore, eleven rollers provideaccommodation for ten' auxiliary interlocking straps 69. As shown inFigure l, the enlarged portions of rollers 68 are in contact `with eachother being so positioned at one end by a grouping pin 11 and at theother end lby the block 36. When an indicator on the face of the votingmachine has been moved to voting position, the main interlocking strap1I therefore Iis raised, carrying with it Athe auxiliary interlockingstrap 69. As the auxiliary strap 69 is raised the lug 16 thereof isprojected upwardly between a pair of rollers causing the rollers to moveblock 36 laterally a distance equivalent to the thickness of the lug.This block must move inasmuch as the grouping pin 11 is suitably fixedto plates II and I2 and cannot -be moved. It will, of course, beunderstood that arrangement is provided to re-locate the grouping pin inthe event that more than ten straps 69 are to be utilized.

Having set forth the structural Vfeatures of the invention, descriptionof the operation thereof is as follows: It is assumed that, among othercandidates listed on a voting machine to which the present invention isapplied, there are ten candidates up for election or nomination and thatthere are only five offices available. The voter moves the conventionalindicators on the face of the voting machine for one candidate in thegroup and the corresponding main interlocking strap 1I is therebyraised. Inasmuch as there is an auxiliary interlocking strap 69connected with each main interlocking strap in this group, saidauxiliary strap will also be raised. This movement of the auxiliaryinterlocking strap laterally displaces one or more rollers 68 and causesblock 36 to move. along the channels 22 and 23. Block 36 is connectedthrough rod 3| with plate 24 and the opening 39 in plate 24 is thusmoved out of registry with shaft 58. As four more main and auxiliaryinterlocking straps 1I and 69 are actuated, the rollers will have beenlaterally moved from the position shown in Figure 1 to that of Fig- :ure3 and block 36, through bar 3l, will have caused plate 24 to assume aposition whereby opening 4I registers with shaft 58. To illustrate thefact that the invention adapts a voting machine to more than one group,a substantial duplicate of the set-up of the structure has been providedand includes block 48, bar 44 and plate 26. It is assumed the voter hasalso selected iive of the ten candidates in this group, moved theindicators to voting position and caused the laterally movable rollersto move block 4'1 along the channels 23 and 2'2. This movement, throughbar 44, has caused plate 26 to move along the channels. Opening 5l hasmoved out of registry with shaft 58 and opening 52 into registrytherewith. The voter now indicates to the election ofcial that he hascompleted his ballot and said oicial raises the entrance knob 61. Thismovement raises strap 64 and releases the curtain control lever wherebythe voter may leave the booth. It also raises strap 62 which causes arm57 to pivot about pin 56 and shaft 52 to project downwardly through theconcentric openings 52 and il of plates 26 and 24.

The above description assumed that the voter had cast a proper ballot.If a voter iailed to indicate his preference for a candidate of each ofthe five oilices and only caused four straps ii and S9 to be raised,blocks 36 and 48 would have caused plates 2li or 26 to move aninsuiicient distance along the channels 2'2 and 23 to bring openings lil or 52 to alignment with the shaft 58. Thus, if the voter indicatedthat he was ready to leave the booth and the election official startedto raise the entrance knob 61, shaft 58 would strike the upper surfaceof one or the other of plates 212 and 26. It would, therefore, beimpossible for the entrance knob to be raised and the mechanismconnected with strap 64 actuated to release the voter. The electionofficial would therefore immediately be ap-prised of the fact that thevoter had not cast a complete ballot and he would so inform the voterand the error would be corrected.

It is to be understood that the present invention is applicable to aconventional voting machine and, in duplicate arrangement, beyond thatshown in the drawing, may adapt said machine to require proper voting inany number of oice groups. Furthermore, the election oincial Will knowimmediately upon his manipulation of the entrance knob Whether or not avoter has cast his ballot in the prescribed manner.

Athough applicant has shown and described only one modication of anauxiliary interlocking mechanism connected with and adapted to controloperation of the voting machine entrance knob in group voting, it willbe understood by those skilled in the art that other modifications oradaptations of the structure may be made Without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the hereunto annexedclaims.

Having thus set forth my invention what I claim as new and for which Idesire protection by Letters Patent is:

1. In a voting machine having an entrance and exit control member and aplurality of indicator operated interlocking straps, a mechanism forcontrolling operation of said member comprising an auxiliary interlock,laterally movable rollers in said interlock, auxiliary interlockingstraps separating said rollers and being joined to certain oi saidindicator operated straps, a perforated plate in said auxiliaryinterlock connected with and adapted to be moved as said rollers aremoved, means connected with and operable by said member to enter one 0isaid periorations when said plate is moved to occupy a predeterminedposition with respect to said means.

2. In a voting machine having an entrance and exit control member and aplurality of indicator operated interlocking straps, a mechanism forcontrolling operation of said member comprising an auxiliary interlock,laterally movable rollers in said interlock, auxiliary interlockingstraps separating said rollers and being joined to certain of saidindicator operated straps, a laterally f movable plate in said auxiliaryinterlock connected with and adapted to move as said rollers are moved,said plate having spaced openings therein, an arm joined to said memberand having a shaft adapted to project into one or the other of saidopenings when said plate occupies either of two positions, whereby topermit operation of said member.

3. In a voting machine having an entrance and exit control member, amechanism for controlling operation of said member comprising anauxiliary interlock, including laterally movable rollers, a blockadapted to .be moved by said rollers, a plate in said auxiliaryinterlock having openings, a bar connecting said plate with said block,an arm joined to said member, a shaft on said arm, said shaft beingmovable by said member to register with one of the openings in saidplate when said rollers have been actuated to move said plate a givendistance.

ALVIN N. GUSTAVSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 628,905 Gillespie July 11, 1899638,627 Dunn Dec. 5, 1899 1,905,807 Coil Apr. 25, 1933 2,109,229 CookFeb. 22, 1938 2,110,297 Gustavson Mar. 8, 1938 2,312,128 Shoup Feb. 23,1943 2,358,922 Gustavson Sept. 26, 1944

